Gonzaga University
2-0
Washington
0-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gonzaga | 24 | 40 | 64 |
| Washington | 30 | 29 | 59 |
Women's Basketball Pulls Out 64-59 Win At Washington
11/16/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 16, 2008
SEATTLE, Wash. - Courtney Vandersloot and Tiffanie Shives combined for 39 points to lead the Gonzaga University women's basketball team to a hard-fought 64-59 come-from-behind victory over the University of Washington Sunday afternoon in Seattle. The Bulldogs, whose win over the Huskies was their second-straight and first-ever at the Bank of America Arena, improved to 2-0 on the season. Washington was playing in its opening game of the season and is now 0-1.
"I was excited that we won," said head coach Kelly Graves. "Was disappointed in the way we played at points though but was proud of the fact we did not play well on the road, against a height team, and still came away with the win."
A three-pointer by Vandersloot with 2:32 left in the game turn the tides for the Zags, who played catch up nearly all game. The three-pointer, which put Gonzaga up 55-51, seemed to deflate the Huskies, who before that always had an answer for GU.
"Courtney played tremendous for us," explained Graves. "She kind of took over in the second half and was a calming force. She hit a couple of huge shots."
After Vandersloot's three-pointer, her third of the game, Vivian Frieson forced Washington to turn the ball over and scored a fast-break layup to give Gonzaga its largest lead of the game.
The Huskies would turn the ball over four times over the final two minutes and the Bulldogs sank 7-of-10 free throws down the stretch, including 5-of-8 by Shives, to secure the five-point victory.
"Tiffanie was timely and so instrumental down the stretch making such clutch free throws," said Graves.
The Huskies held at least a one point lead for three-fourths of the game until Vandersloot hit a three-pointer that tied the game at 34-34 with 15:28 remaining. Washington responded with Mollie Williams hitting one-of-two free throws and Krista Kingma making a jumper to give UW some breathing room.
The Bulldogs continued to battle and took their first lead of the game at the 9:19 mark of the second half after a jumper by Jami Schaefer put the score at 43-42. The lead was short live as Washington made 4-of-6 free throws to take back a three-point lead with 7:02 remaining on the clock.
Gonzaga broke the fifth tie of the game with a free throw by Janelle Bekkering and then never relinquished the lead. Shives used a give-and-go with Heather Bowman to make a layup and then Vandersloot drained the momentum shifting three-pointer.
"Our defense was amazing," said Graves, whose team forced the Huskies to turn the ball over 31 times. "We made the plays down the stretch, especially the quick run that put the game out of reach."
Gonzaga was shaky in the first half and was happy to go into the locker room only down six, 30-24. The Bulldogs were getting plenty of looks but most were not falling as they shot a dismal 23.3 percent on 10-for-43 shooting, including only 10.0 percent from three point range, hitting 1-for-10.
At one point in the opening half Washington held a 10 point lead after breaking a 7-7 tie with 10-consecutive points. Gonzaga settled down after a time out and rattled off six-straight points of its own.
Vandersloot, who had her second-straight 20-plus point game, also dished out six assists, grabbed five rebounds and made two steals in 35 minutes of action for Gonzaga.
Bowman, playing in her first game since elbow surgery in early November, struggled on offensive finishing with five points on 2-for-10 shooting. She was strong defensively for GU, grabbing six rebounds, two offensive and making one steal.
"Heather played well considering she hadn't practiced in three weeks," stated Graves. "It was good that she got out there and got her feet wet. She is rusty but played through it and will only getting better with each game."
Gonzaga finished the contest shooting 32.4 percent on 22-for-68, including hitting 40.0 percent from behind the three-point arc (6-of-15). The Zags held the 45-39 rebounding advantage and scored 32 points off of the Huskies turnovers.
Washington was led by Laura McLellan who scored 16 points and had eight rebounds.
The Bulldogs will play their third game in six days when they welcome Utah Valley University to the McCarthey Athletic Center on Wednesday, Nov. 19. Game time is set for 6 p.m.
